From time to time, messages such as the following appear in our chat or e-mail:
Hello LineUpr Team, can you help us with this?
The main speaker should appear at the top of the line-up, the rest should be sorted by last name.
Additionally, we have 4 program points that run simultaneously and should be displayed from A to D. (…)
Of course, we can set that up quickly for you, but actually, it’s so easy that you too can do it in just a few seconds. You will find out here exactly how to do this.

Basics – why is it important?

Properly sorted is already half of the battle. You could see it like this.
Some still have a few problems with the app-internal sorting function or do not even know how to use it correctly.
We want to change that today and show you how to sort by last name, for example.
Used sensibly, you can get out of it any listing sequence of the line-up and create many more points.

Concrete Example

As a basis, you probably noticed that the system is sorted by default according to the character (first numbers, then letters). This is how it is in the line-up, in the location overview, and in the Infos. Basically wherever you can find a sorting field.

Note:

There is also a sorting function as a drop-down menu in the respective overviews, which, however, only refers to the CMS and not to the app presentation.

How do I change the sorting?

In the picture above you can see three contributors to the line-up. The sorting is set to default. In other words, the number 100 appears in the sorting field. It is thus sorted according to numbers and then letters of the profile title.

There are two ways to change this sequence.

The easiest way is to enter a defined number in the sorting field and to define which entry is at which position. As a result, the order changes accordingly.

Our participant Paul has now moved to the top of the depiction.

Sorting by last name

Now let’s look at a different sequence.

We now have more participants in this example and would like to sort them by gender and last name.

Now you have to divide the participants into female and male. For this, we chose, for example, the letters A and B.

Then just add the last name.

For this, you can either open each participant’s entry and make adjustments there or you can export the entries as Excel or CSV files and quickly edit everything in the column sortOrder.
The last procedure is recommended especially if you have a lot of entries.

After importing the edited file, the layout is automatically adjusted.

With this system, you can now make your individual adjustments.
As described above, this also works for the locations and info pages.
The sponsors could be sorted according to their packages, for example.
When displaying the program, the order can also be adjusted. Here you only have to note that the beginning of a program point is more important than your sorting information.
Only if program points start at the same time does sorting play a role. We hope that future adjustments will now be easier for you.

What should you have learned

Sorting from A to Z or Z to A you should now go quickly from the hand in the big as in the small.

The post Tutorial – In-App Sorting first appeared on LineUpr Blog.

“Hello LineUpr Team, can you tell me how I can change my URL later on?” This is one of the most frequently asked questions of our users.
Let’s see how this works. If you want to find out more about the URL, you are welcome to look at the Wikipedia page Wikipedia URL.

Basics – why is it important?

The event URL is an internet address generated by the system and is composed of the data you enter when you register.
Simply put, the event URL consists of:

Account name + lineupr.com + Name of the event

Example:

We gave our account the name “tennis club” when registering. The system generated “tennis-club.linepr.com” while checking in the background if the URL is still available. If the address is not available, you will get a notification.

Now we can create the first app and see how the URL is made up of the name of the account and the name of the event.

After creating the app, you can then continue on normally with filling it.
Changes to the URL can still be made!
You just have to be clear on which part you want to change.

Changing the account URL

Do you want to change your account URL? Then click on the avatar in the top right corner and choose:
“Account Settings”

Here you can customize your URL and also your account name.

Changing the event name

The question now is how to change the end part of our URL. To do this, go to General Settings on the Dashboard.

Now you can make an adjustment to the event URL.
The event name and the event URL can be different.

The URL can also be very simple, by making the part before and after “lineupr.com” minimalist.

This is how I shortened the rather long URL in just a few steps.

Note:

Customizations to the URL can be done quickly. Just be careful when you are doing it. Ideally, do it before the app is published because the old URL can no longer be retrieved by your users.

And how do you get rid of the lineupr.com?

Lineupr.com is part of the event URL. If you want to use your own URL, you need a white label solution.
The costs for this solution are € 999 per app.

We will be happy to provide you with further technical steps on request.

What should you have learned

Changing and adapting the event URL shouldn’t be difficult anymore and you know now that you can use your own website to link to the event app.

The post Tutorial – Editing the Event URL first appeared on LineUpr Blog.

You may have already noticed that we have an export function. You can export survey results, the list of participants, or even your entire agenda. We have compiled everything about exporting/importing with LineUpr here for you.

As export formats, we offer you a CSV or Excel file. Especially with the former, we often hear from Windows users that it is difficult to open the file correctly. This is because you do not open a CSV file directly with Excel, but you first have to import successfully. How exactly this works is what we’re going to be talking about today. For the screenshots, we used the Excel version of Office 365. The procedure is basically very similar from version to version. Only the view and the name of the butts are slightly different.

Convert a CSV file to an Excel file

Our little journey starts with a CSV file. This can be an export of survey results, feedback, or even the complete agenda or list of participants from LineUpr. Of course, you can use this guide to convert other CSV files into regular Excel files.

Now that we are prepared, we can move forward with the practical steps. So first open Excel. Here you will find the “Data” tab at the top of the selection. By default, this is the 7th tab from the left. Please click on this tab now.

The exact view depends on the size of your Excel window. Ideally, you will find the entry “From Text / CSV” almost at the bottom left of the tabs. If you do not see this button, then please click on “Retrieve data” on the far left. This opens a small menu. Please click on “From data” and then on “From Text / CSV”. Now you have to select the appropriate CSV file and you will open a new Excel window.

The appearance of this window varies from version to version in Excel. As discussed above, we are working here with the Office 365 version. But no matter how the image looks to you, there are two things to watch out for.

The first thing is how Excel should transform the data. This is especially relevant if you work with exceptional characters. There are formats in which certain characters will not be transferred over correctly and this may also lead to errors. Excel uses the term “file origin” in this version. We always use the “65001: Unicode (UTF-8)”. So far, we have only had good experiences.

The next important point is the separator. Here you define how individual columns are correctly separated. We always use a comma as separator in our CSV files. Therefore, be sure to select comma here. If you use another CSV file, then you should first check which separator is used. A semicolon is also used very often. Now click on “Transform data” and the CSV will be converted into an Excel file.

What You Should Have Learned

Importing a CSV file should no longer be a problem for you. Should unexpected errors still occur or the cells/columns are not displayed correctly, then please contact us and we will help you. Most errors are due to a wrong character format.

The post How to Import LineUpr CSV Files into Excel first appeared on LineUpr Blog.

How can I integrate PDFs and other documents into my app? In this article, we deal with this question in detail.

Many organizers often use external documents and PDFs to present content. Some examples include CVs, abstracts on scientific papers, menus, participant lists, topic summaries, etc. Although a large part of this content can also be displayed directly in the app (we always recommend this to our customers), some data is better off being displayed externally. Uploading such files directly into the app does not make sense and can be connected to many problems, such as loss of control over sensitive data and artificial enlargement of the app. Instead, we prefer linking existing resources to our apps. Thus, the organizer retains full control and can still pass on the content to his participants with ease. To do this, the files must first be hosted in a public (or accessible by means of authorization profiles) location and made accessible via a URL. Then the file can be linked to the LineUpr app using this URL.

Hosting via Own Server

Most of our corporate customers host their files on internal servers. The effort is quite clear and at the same time, the complete control of the data remains in-house. The internal IT department usually does the setup. The files are stored on a separate FTP server so that they can be reached via a link / URL. This link does not need to be public. Depending on the location, i.e. to which program point, person/sponsor profile or location the file is associated with, then this link can be published/integrated into the app. The only disadvantage of this option is the need for a separate server and the creation of these links. In return, however, you can even set a password or enter a user authentication such as an email address so that you can control very precisely who gets access to your files.

Hosting via Third-Party Providers

If you do not have any hosting infrastructure yourself or the setup is too much effort, then you can of course also rely on external providers. We have compiled for you a small selection of possible alternatives below. Again, you upload your files on to a server and create or receive a link / URL that leads to the file in question. For third-party providers, however, there are a few special features. First, when choosing a provider, you should, of course, pay attention to how your data will be handled. Companies based outside of the EU are not subjected to the strict European data protection regulations. In addition, you should pay attention to whether you make the files accessible only to a certain group of people (authorization e.g. via mail) or to any person who has the URL.

As promised, the small selection of possible providers with links:

Dropbox
The best -known provider is certainly Dropbox. This is promoted with free starter packages and particularly broad functional depth.

Microsoft OneDrive
The cloud service from Microsoft has been cooperating with Telekom since 2017 and also offers hosting on German telecom servers.

Google Drive
Google’s cloud service is widely used and stands out for its ease of use and large free storage space.

Secure safe
The Swiss provider SecureSafe defines itself primarily via European server locations and the special encryption of the data.

DriveOnWeb
DriveOnWeb is a German cloud storage service that promises compliance with ISO 27001 data protection.

HiDrive
HiDrive is an offer from Strato and advertises, among others, with German server locations.

Integration of Links into LineUpr

After you have hosted your file on your own server or on an external server, the link now only needs to be integrated into the app. The question is, where should this link be placed? For example, if the link is a CV, then the URL should be linked to the profile of the person. In the case of an abstract, a content summary or presentation slides, the corresponding agenda item on the agenda is the best place. If you would like to present a location or a sponsor with background stories or offers, then the profiles of the location or the sponsor are the perfect place. No matter how different these variations appear at a first glance, they all have in common that the links are directly linked to a specific place. The creation process is always identical.

First, log in to your LineUpr account and open the app. Now click on the profile or the program point in which you want to integrate the file. You are now in create mode, scroll down to the left /social media/email/phone block. Here choose “Link / Social Media” as the link type and click on “+ New entry” (1). In the link field (2) you can enter the complete URL (i.e. with http: // www …) and a name (3) for this link. Then click on “Save changes” (4) and the link is integrated

As an example, we selected a personal profile where we selected the LinkedIn profile as the link and named this link “LinkedIn profile”. In the app it will look like this:

Besides this simple example, there are cases where a file cannot be assigned to a specific location. Here it is best to publish the file in the description text within a post, profile, program point or information page. Here you can put the URL behind a word or a text. Again, the creation principle is always identical.

You log in to your account again and open the app. Then choose the area where you want to publish your link. As an example, we use the same link as before, but this time we will put it directly into the text of the description field. For this, I chose in the example the word “here” (1) and selected it. In the second step click on the “chain symbol” (2), enter the full URL in the open window (i.e. with http: // www …) and click on “Link”. Due to the linking, the word “here” is now underlined. To make it even clearer, you can also make “here” bold. At the end click on “Save Changes” (3) and you’re done.

The result of this process can be seen here:

Summary

We offer you two basic ways to integrate your external documents into the app. You can either link them within a text or assign the link directly to a superordinate profile or program item. We described exactly how it works in the article. The basis for this is that you host this file so that it can be reached via a link. To do this, we have briefly presented you with several providers along with the advantages and disadvantages of internal and external hosting. Basically, we currently do not offer the possibility to upload external files, such as PDFs, directly into the app which conflicts somewhat with our vision of a lean, easy-to-use app. However, we do not want to rule out offering a solution for this in the future.

Give us Feedback

What is your opinion on document management in event apps? Which files were you unable to convert directly into the app and needed to be integrated extra? We look forward to your answers.

The post How do I Integrate Documents into my Event App? first appeared on LineUpr Blog.

Participation in surveys at events is often less than 10%. Here we’ll show you 6 strategies to maximize this rate and get visitors excited about participating in your surveys.

Again and again, organizers ask us if they can conduct surveys with LineUpr at their events. Of course, you can, but often the problem is not the technical provision but the participation rate. After more than 700 events, we have gained some expertise in dealing with attendees and today tell you how to get (almost) all your guests to answer your surveys. Basically, two things are crucial. First, the visitor needs to know about the survey, and second, he must be convinced to participate.

Short Briefing

Added value of surveys: The focus when communicating surveys should always be the added value for the participant.

Presentation of the app: Use the introduction of the app to present your surveys and to show how they work.

Moderators and Speakers: Use the presence of the persons on stage. They should briefly mention the benefits and usage of the app.

Integration into program items: Integrate surveys directly into workshops and lectures.

Presentation of the results: Present the results of the survey live, thus ensuring greater participation in surveys.

User-friendly integration: Make it easy for your participants and integrate the surveys into the app so that users can quickly find and answer them.

What added value do surveys offer your participants?

Very few people do anything without expecting something in return. This also applies to the participation in your surveys. Regardless of how you inform your guests about the existence of the surveys, you need to explain in advance what added value they are getting. This added value should always be at the center of the survey and app information.

At Live Q & As, the added value is clear. Here visitors can direct the discussion on the stage or ask their own questions to the speakers. If you’re looking for feedback on the event or individual program points, then you need to make it clear that the feedback will help you streamline your events and give your guests an even better experience at the next event. General surveys on topics, for example, to develop a study from it, are rather difficult since there is no direct benefit for the participants. Here you could argue that the information collected will be made available to all participants free of charge.

In general, you should communicate to your participants that through surveys they can become part of the event and actively participate in changes and communication topics.

Presentation of the App

The first time the app is presented, the focus should be on the direct added value of its use. Here you can already refer to your surveys which can be done through the app. The users are thus already sensitized and can inform themselves beforehand on how exactly they can use the app.

Also, added information about the app should always shortly talk about the survey function and for what specific cases it will be used at your event.

Presentation by the moderators and speakers

Even though we always talk about the success and scope of digital strategies, at events the physical and analog instruments still work very well. The moderators should refer to the app and surveys at the beginning and in between.

The speakers can also play a decisive role here. The guests always look up to the participants on stage and would like to be guided by them accordingly. Be sure to use this possibility.

Connection to program points

If the surveys refer to individual program items, then, of course, the respective speakers are in question. They should also orient themselves during their presentation according to the survey and take the guests by the hand and motivate them to answer the questions.

Presentation of Results

You can also present the results of the surveys live to your audience via projectors or screens. Your participants can get direct feedback. At the same time, it increases the likelihood that people who have not yet taken part in the surveys will still do so.

User-friendly integration into the app

Besides informing participants about the existence of the surveys, you should, of course, make it as easy as possible for your visitors to participate. This means that you should integrate the surveys into the app accordingly. For example, in global feedback surveys, it is useful to display them directly on the start screen. And if a survey refers to a specific program point, then you should definitely link this point in the app.

What you should have learned

For surveys among your guests to be successful, your visitors need to know about it and you also need to convince them to participate. For the latter, it is important that they recognize the added value. For the first point, you can integrate your app and the surveys into the whole event. In addition to digital communication, your speakers and moderators are also important. They should regularly refer to the survey function. Last but not least, your surveys should, of course, be integrated into the app so that your guests can find them quickly and easily.

What is your opinion on interactive surveys at events? Would you participate in such surveys? If not, why? We appreciate your feedback.

“Reach For The Stars” (https://thenounproject.com/search/?q=reach&i=83713) Icon created by Gerald Wildmoser from “the Noun Project” (https://thenounproject.com).

The post LineUpr Tutorial – 6 Steps to Maximize Survey Participation first appeared on LineUpr Blog.

Creating a Link to Individual Entries

In order to link individual contents – for example a survey in a program item – proceed as follows:

1. Open the entry in which the link should be displayed.
2. At the very bottom of the page, go to the “Links / Social Media / E-mail / Phone” section and select “Link to Entry” from the drop-down menu.
3. Confirm your selection by clicking on “+ Add”.
4. A new link will be added. From the drop-down menu with “Select Section” placeholder select the main category from which you want to link content – for example, “Surveys”.
5. In the text box to your right you can start entering the title of the content to be linked.
6. Select the content to link from the suggestions. Note! The name of the entry becomes the name of the link. This cannot be edited in retrospect.
7. Save the link by clicking on “Save changes” in the upper right corner.

Creating a Link to the Lists

Another case: You have created an attendee list in the Lineup and these (or only a part) need to be assigned to one of your program entries. For example, only participants belonging to the category “Group 1” can attend Workshop 1.
You can also link a list of sponsors for promotional purposes with a program entry, e.g. sponsors of the “Gold Sponsor” category will be displayed in the program.

1. Open the program point in which the link should be displayed.
2. At the very bottom of the page, go to the “Links / Social Media / E-mail / Phone” section and select “Link to Section” from the drop-down menu.
3. Confirm your selection by clicking on “+ Add”.
4. A new link will be added. From the drop-down menu with “Select Section” placeholder select the main category from which you want to link a list – for example “Lineup”.
5. In the second drop-down menu to the right you can now – if necessary – filter with existing categories – for example “Group 1”. Note! The name of the category becomes the name of the link. This cannot be edited in retrospect.
6. Once you added your link to the list, save your progress by clicking on “Save Changes” in the upper right corner.

Creating a Link for Individual Entries on the Home Screen

Do you want to collect feedback on your event? Then you need to attract the attention of your attendees. The easiest way is by linking your feedback sheet to the start menu. To do that, proceed like this:

1. Click on “Settings” in the menu to your left and then on “Menus”.
2. From the drop-down menu at the bottom of the page, select “Link to Entry” and add it to the menu with “+ Add” button.
3. A new link will be added. From the drop-down menu with “Select Section” placeholder, select the section from which you want to link content – for example “Surveys”.
4. In the text field to your right you can start to enter the title of the content to be linked.
5. Select the content to be linked from the suggestions.
6. You can now decide whether the link should be displayed on the start page or whether it should only be accessible via the side menu; where the feedback entry should be placed (move it up and down with the drag and drop button) and if you want to set a custom subtitle. Note! The name of the entry becomes the name of the menu. This cannot be edited in retrospect
7. Save the menu by clicking on “Save Changes” in the upper right corner.

Creating a Link for the Lists on the Home Screen

Here you can create additional menu items or filtered lists. Let’s say you have two different program tracks and you tagged them only with categories and you’re worried that your participants might get confused. Here you can create an additional menu item and make two programs out of one. To do this, proceed as follows:

1. Click on “Settings” in the menu to your left and then on “Menus”.
2. From the drop-down menu at the bottom, select “Link to Section” and add it to the menu with “+ Add” button.
3. A new link will be added. From the drop-down menu with “Select Section” placeholder, select the section from which you want to link a list – for example “Schedule”.
4. In the second drop-down menu to your right you can now – if necessary – filter with the existing category. Note! If necessary, filter also the general schedule menu with the other category.
5. You can now decide whether the link should be displayed on the start page or whether it should only be accessible via the side menu; where the feedback entry should be placed (move it up and down with the drag and drop button) and if you want to set a custom subtitle. Note! The name of the category becomes the name of the menu. This cannot be edited in retrospect.
6. Save the link by clicking on “Save Changes” in the upper right corner.

What You Should Have Learned

In this tutorial, we showed you how to link content within the app. Based on four use cases we have explained four different possibilities of linkage. 

The post Link Content Within the App with Just a Few Clicks first appeared on LineUpr Blog.

We try every day to make creating a LineUpr Event App as easy as possible. Nevertheless, you should schedule a bit more time for your first app. But to make it even faster, we thought, why not rely on already existing information? That’s why we developed the Duplicate Feature for you.

In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to use existing event apps as a template for new event apps. You have two options available. Either you completely duplicate an existing app or you just use individual elements.

Why Should I Duplicate My Event App?

The short answer is: It saves you a lot of work.

With your first event app, you would have certainly invested a lot of time in appealing graphics and the integration of your corporate design. Maybe you also changed the app menu and adapted the names and language of the app to the habits of your participants. In addition, all organizers present the speakers and presenters with their profiles in the app. LineUpr offers you a variety of possibilities to show the many facets of your event. It would be a pity to just allow this data to gather dust in your account afterward.

At your next event, you might want to re-invite a few of the speakers or maybe the location was so perfect that it should again be the site for your event. The number of participants from event to event is often very stable. At the very least, your corporate design will remain much the same over the years. So what is against using existing data from existing event apps as the basis for the next app? Exactly: nothing! That’s why you can use almost all data from existing LineUpr apps to create a new event app.

How to Duplicate Your Event App

If you log in to your account, then you automatically land on the organizer’s dashboard. Here you can find all of the apps in your account.

If you want to use one of these apps as the basis for the next event app, move your mouse over the three dots in the lower right corner of the respective app.

A small overview will now automatically open. Now click on “Duplicate” in the top line and the window for creating the new event app will automatically open.

In the bottom area “Copy content from”, the data is already selected. If you now click on “Create event”, then all of the data of the selected app will be copied to the new app.

How to Copy Selected Data from Your Event App

Of course, you do not always have to duplicate an event app completely. Sometimes you only want to copy selected parts, such as the graphics, the profiles of the locations, or profiles of the speakers. To do this, you can click on “Create new event” directly in the app overview and select another app in the “Copy content from” section and then choose the desired data via checkboxes.

Use Pictures and Graphics from Existing Apps

Did you already know that your graphics and images are stored globally in your account? This means that you can directly access the images and graphics from other event apps for each app.

Click on “Select image” in the respective area. Here you can see the overview of all images that have already been downloaded to this app. Also, you will find a drop-down menu in the upper left corner, which automatically displays the current event app. In this menu, you can also switch to an existing event app and select images to use for the new event app.

What to Pay Attention to When Duplicating

Many organizers used the Duplicate Feature because they organize the same event almost every year. Often the location remains the same, the program is very similar and a large part of the participants attend every year.

Many also use the existing ideas and materials for marketing. For example, the URL of the website remains the same from year to year. Maybe you want to do the same with your event app. Then you have to make a few extra clicks when duplicating the app because you can use the URL only for one app.

First, copy/write down the current URL for the event app. Then open the app of the last event and go to the general settings. There you have to adjust the URL slightly (This will release the fixed URL for a new app). Now duplicate the app as described above and enter the fixed URL. Done.

What You Should Have Learned

In this tutorial, we showed you how to duplicate an existing event app and use it as the basis for a new event app. Of course, you can also use individual data for your event app.

If you want to use the same app URL every year, you have to adjust the old app first.

The post LineUpr Tutorial – How to Duplicate Event Apps first appeared on LineUpr Blog.

Q&A stands for Questions and Answers. Q&A sessions are great for picking up your participants and integrating them into your event. Although head-on presentations also have their charm, what could be better than asking the speaker one’s personal questions? After all, each of us has our topics and priorities.

In general, Q&A sessions are highly recommended and have a number of benefits for you as an event organizer. Unfortunately, there are a few stumbling blocks to consider in the implementation. But do not worry. After reading this article you will be optimally prepared and nothing will stand in the way of a successful Q&A session.

What Is a Q&A Session and How Does It Work?

During a Q&A session, your participants can ask individual questions to the speaker, moderator or you.  This is often done immediately after a presentation or during a panel discussion. Depending on the format, the questions are answered directly by the addressed person or a moderator opens the questions in a debate.

Q&As are not a recent invention but instead, have always been part of the solid repertoire of any good conference. However, the development of event technology has given this idea a whole new momentum. It has never been so easy for organizers to gather questions from the audience anonymously and quickly.

In the past, participants first had to catch the speaker’s eye and when they were subsequently selected, they had to yell their question through the room. Firstly, the selection process alone consumes valuable time, and secondly, few people dare to expose themselves in this way. Many are afraid of embarrassing themselves. With the introduction of microphones, no one had to scream anymore but still, the fear of embarrassment was there. Besides, the selection process was even longer since the microphone must first be brought to the person asking the question.

With the use of event apps, these issues are now history. With LineUpr you can create a Q&A survey in a few seconds and unlock it for your participants. They can then anonymously and with a few clicks ask their questions through the app directly to the speakers. You can publish these questions live (via a beamer or screens) or you can give your moderator access to the questions and the moderator can put up them on behalf of the participants.

With LineUpr, participants can enter their questions quickly and anonymously. You, the organizer, can publish the questions live or select them directly. Participants are no longer afraid of asking a stupid question or embarrassing themselves. You do not have to pick anyone or send your staff running through the hall. Also, questions can be collected in parallel, allowing your speakers to choose from a large pool.

Why You Should Definitely Use Q&A Sessions

There is hardly an easier way to integrate your participants into the event programme than with Q&A sessions. At the same time, it also saves you a lot of work and time in event planning.

Firstly, your participants can ask their individual questions. We all have a very subjective view of the world, so we are also interested in different aspects. As an organizer, you can rack your brains for weeks wondering which questions your attendees will want to have answered or you can just let them ask questions themselves.

Secondly, you do not have to think up questions on your own. As already mentioned, the participants do this for you. Sure, you should always have a few general questions in the back of your mind but you’re saving yourself a lot of work and time.

Thirdly, your speakers are challenged. If you think up the questions yourself, then in 99% of the cases you will be asking the standard questions your speakers have heard a hundred times. The answers are routine and you will not learn anything exciting. If the participants ask their own questions, then in 90% of the cases there will also be classic questions but only from the crowd will there be some interesting questions. The speakers are required to answer these questions and they have to answer spontaneously. Here, real gold nuggets often come to light for all participants.

Risks and Disadvantages of Q&A Sessions

Unfortunately, there are some stumbling blocks which you should keep in mind when it comes to Q&A sessions.

Your participants don’t ask any questions. An absolute catastrophe. You prepared everything so well and the speaker is ready for questions but your audience remains silent. This can quickly become embarrassing for the speaker or for you. In this case, you should have a few questions in the back of your mind to avoid a bumpy start. You often only need one point for the discussion to start. If the speaker starts, the questions usually come by themselves.

If you decide to use LineUpr for the Q&A session, then this problem should only occur in the first few seconds. Since the participants can submit their questions anonymously and very easily, even very shy people dare to join in. This problem is much more common in the classic approach with the microphone and standing up in front of everyone else situation.

Another risk is an inappropriate question. Since your participants decide for themselves which questions they ask then there can, of course, be unpleasant questions. What is rude in this example depends heavily on the speaker. As an organizer, you have two options in this case. If you decide to present the questions live, then you should first make it clear to your participants which types of questions are allowed or which topics may be taboo (in this case, you should be aware that this may also lead to the problem that such questions are then asked). Or you decide against the live version and your moderator chooses the questions. But again, you should explain to the participants in advance which questions are allowed and which are not. In this way, you can avoid having disappointed participants.

8 Tips for Successful Q&A Sessions

Lastly, we have summarized our top 10 tips so that everything goes according to plan during your Q&A sessions

Before the event:

1. Prepare your moderator or speaker

Your moderator or speaker should know precisely how the Q&A session runs so that nothing goes wrong on stage. So explain the exact process to them and show them how the participants can enter their questions and how the questions ultimately end up on the stage. If a little more time is available, then the process should definitely be rehearsed.

2. Connect your moderators with the speakers

If you are working with a moderator and a speaker, it is necessary that both have a short talk beforehand so that they can get a feeling for each other. On the stage, both should ultimately work as one unit. Again, you could do a small rehearsal where your moderator asks one or two questions to the speaker.

3. Prepare a few questions yourself

Sometimes starting a Q&A session can be a bit bumpy. In this case, you should prepare some warmup questions. The speakers can start relaxed and at the same time, you give your participants a starting point for further questions.

4. Clear time concept

You should allow enough time for the questions and answers. Such a session is actually really useful for only about 10 minutes. Your participants ultimately want to ask all of their questions.

5. Clear instructions for the event’s technic

The technical department should be well informed about the ways in which the participants can ask their questions and how they should be published afterward. During the session, the technician and presenter have no opportunity to communicate with each other. Therefore everything should be agreed on before.

During the event:

6. Let your participants know

At the beginning of the session, your moderator should explain to the participants exactly how to enter the questions via LineUpr. If there are also guidelines for the type of questions, then this is the right time to call them again. Afterward, the moderator should start with one or two warmup questions so that the participants have enough time to enter their questions.

7. Answer the questions

The moderator should always make sure that the speakers answer the questions of the audience and do not stray or ignore it.

8. Pay attention to the time

In addition, the moderator is also responsible for keeping track of time. The speakers should answer the questions as short as possible and as detailed as necessary. Ultimately, you want to answer as many questions as possible.

Bonus: If there are still open questions at the end of the session they could be answered afterward backstage and made available to the participants either as an audio track or a video.

Damit bei deinen Q&A-Sessions auch wirklich alles nach Plan läuft, haben wir zum Abschluss unsere 10 Top-Tipps zusammengefasst.

What You Should Have Learned

Q&A sessions are a great idea to integrate more participants into your event. The implementation is playfully easy and creates a change to the classic questions and discussion formats for both sides. We find it to be an enrichment for every kind of event.

“QA” Icon created by Sergey Novosyolov, RU from “the Noun Project“.

The post How to Successfully Use Q&A Sessions for Your Event – 8 Tips from LineUpr first appeared on LineUpr Blog.

Today, organizers want to offer their participants diversity and a wide range of possible topics. Therefore, more and more events have parallel event tracks for different subareas. These tracks are further subdivided into classic keynotes, podium discussions, Q&A sessions, and group activities. Your participants can quickly lose track of things.

For this reason, we enable all LineUpr app users to create an individual agenda independently and to save not only the programme points but also interesting speakers and participants for later.

How exactly this works, where organizers can find this data and how they can use it to optimize their events is what this article is about.

How to Create an Individual Agenda

Participants can create their agenda in advance so that they always have an overview of your event. All they have to do is open the LineUpr app and go to the schedule. Here, they need to open a programme item that they want to visit and click on the heart symbol on the right side.

How to Mark Speakers or Sponsors as Favorites

Following the same principle, you can also save speakers and other participants in your event app. Open the app profile of the person and then click on the heart symbol.

Where Participants Can Find Their Agenda and Favorites

You can find your agenda and favorites in the menu of the event app under Favourites. To do this, click on the three dashes in the upper right corner and then on Favourites in the pop-up menu.

On this page, you can now switch back and forth between your agenda, in which only your favorite programme items are displayed, and your favorite person profiles.

Where Organizers Can Find This Data

This data is not only relevant to your participants but also to you. You can find it in your event CMS represented as hearts.

How You Can Use the Data for Event Improvement

Now you’re probably wondering what you can do with those numbers.

Firstly, with the help of the hearts in the programme, you can see before the event which items will be particularly well attended. Many of our organizers do the final room allocation shortly before the event using these numbers.

Secondly, you can use the participants’ favorite numbers to see which people are real networking geniuses. These are the people you should integrate into your event. After all, they bring a lot of added value to all other participants.

Thirdly, you can also use the favorite numbers to identify the most popular speakers. These are just as important to your event as the participants. You should find out why these speakers are so popular. For this, you could use the feedback function of LineUpr. Maybe you can use these insights to improve other lectures as well. You should also invite the best speakers directly for the next event.

What You Should Have Learned

In this short tutorial, we showed you how event participants can quickly and easily create their individual agenda for your event using the LineUpr app. Additionally, they can also save exciting speakers or participants in the app, e.g., to address them directly after the event.

We also showed you how to use this information for your benefit. Orientate yourself in the location planning for example through the interest of your participants, and tie the best speakers to your event on a long-term basis.

“Favorite” Icon created by Arkthus from “the Noun Project“.

The post How to Create an Individual Agenda with LineUpr first appeared on LineUpr Blog.

Can I also do the participant registration via the LineUpr app? We regularly get this question from our organizers. And, as almost always in life, the answer is a strong “it depends”. ?

If this registration also refers to a payment system for the billing of tickets or the automatic assignment to individual programme items and lectures, then LineUpr is, unfortunately, unsuitable for this purpose. However, if you are merely interested in collecting participant data, querying interests and clarifying arrival and departure information, then yes, you can do that with LineUpr. And now we’ll show you exactly how that works.

Create the Participant Registration

First of all, we need a way for participants to enter their data. For this, we use a classic survey. How to create surveys and what to consider is shown in this article.

For the title of the survey choose something like “Participant Registration”. Next, you need to think about what data you want to collect from your participants and what you want to know about them. Typically, here you ask for the name and contact details such as telephone number and email address. For such questions use the answer type Text Field.

Besides that, you can collect a lot of interesting information about your participants. If you want to pick them up from the airport or train station, then ask for the arrival and departure times. Here you can work with the response types Multiple and Single Choice. Here your participants already make their first statement about which programme points they want to participate in. You can also ask them if you should book an overnight stay for them or you can ask about their food preferences.

You see, the opportunity to ask questions is very vast. So think about it before. ?

Here You Can Find the Participant’s Data

You can find the entries of your participants directly in the survey. To do this, first, log in to your Event CMS and click on the participant survey. This will automatically land you in the edit view. Now quickly click on “Evaluation” in the middle and you will see the entries of the participants. For a better evaluation, we recommend that you export the results by clicking on “Download CSV file”. Then you’ll have everything available as an Excel file.

Put the Participant Registrations in Focus

In our experience, it is essential to make it as easy as possible for the participants to enter their information. Therefore, we recommend placing the link to register directly on the home screen. Depending on which further information you want to present to the participants before the event straight on the home screen, it may be useful to delete all other menu items.

Often the participant registration takes place a while before the event. In this case, the participants have little or no interest in the other participants, the sponsors, the location or the programme. Here it makes sense, as long as the registration is still open, to only show the registration on the home screen of the app. To achieve this, log in to your Event CMS again and go via Settings in the “Menus” menu. Here you can define which and how menu items are displayed on the home screen. In this tutorial, you will learn what is possible here.

The Final Participant Registration

Now that we’ve been discussing this for a while, it’s time to show you what the registration might look like in the end. The first question is, how do your participants learn about the app? Quite simply, you can distribute the link via social media, by email or as a QR code on printed flyers/posters.

If you’re primarily concerned with the registration in the first step, then it’s best to use the direct link to the survey, not the generic URL of your app. How to find out the survey URL and share it is explained in our tutorial on linking surveys.

If your attendees open the survey link on a mobile device, they will be taken directly to the participant registration. But if they use a stationary device, then the home screen of the app opens first.

In the second case, the user must first click his way through to the survey. After one or two clicks, they will all end up on the page where they can enter their data.

As already discussed, all answers immediately land in your CMS and you can continue working with them.

What You Should Have Learned

In this article, we showed you how to use LineUpr to create a simple registration portal for your participants and evaluate the data in real time.

“Registration” Icon created by Healthcare Symbols from “the Noun Project“.

The post Tutorial: How to Create an Attendee Registration Form in LineUpr first appeared on LineUpr Blog.